Cricket has got a new format, ‘Test Twenty’, that promises to fuse “the depth of Test cricket with the energy of T20”. This is the game’s first 80-over format that has taken a middle path — not long, at the same time, not short either.
The rule of the game is two 20-over innings per side, played in a single day, with win, loss, tie or draw being the possible results.
Sports entrepreneur Gaurav Bahirvani, executive chairman of the One One Six Network and architect of the ‘fourth format’, unveiled Test Twenty on Thursday. It is claimed to be cricket’s most ambitious reinvention yet. Along with Bahirvani, former greats like AB de Villiers, Clive Lloyd, Matthew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh have formed the bedrock of Test-Twenty’s advisory board.
“We are not competing with any of our leagues. It is aimed at doing a lot for kids around the globe and the value is enormous. We are backed by AI tech which is unprecedented. This league will be a huge innovation for the game without impacting the current structure,” Bahirvani said.
“Test Twenty is innovation with intent — it honours the traditions of the game while embracing the possibilities of the future,” said De Villiers.
Lloyd commented: “Having lived through every era of cricket, I can say this — the game has always adapted, but never this thoughtfully.”
Hayden said: “As a player and a parent, I see this as cricket’s bridge between eras — a format that carries the wisdom of the old world into the fire of the new.”
Harbhajan lauded it, saying: “Cricket needed a fresh heartbeat — something that connects today’s youth with the game’s original spirit. Test Twenty does exactly that.”
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